If Cuccinelli is preparing to appoint outside counsel to represent Virginians in a tax case against a company in which he owns stock and from whose CEO he received $13,000 in gifts? If so, how will he explain why it took him nearly two years to realize how inappropriate it is for a stockholder in a company (and close friend of its CEO) to represent taxpayers in a case against that company?Additionally, if a new counsel takes over and moves the case forward, how will Cuccinelli explain why his office was unable to make progress in a case where up to $1.7 million in unpaid taxes are at stake?

"If Ken Cuccinelli recuses his office from the lawsuit concerning Star Scientific's unpaid taxes, that will be an admission that he never should have tried to handle this case in the first place," said DPVA spokesman Brian Coy.

"Virginians deserve better than an Attorney General who only recuses himself after he was caught sitting on a case involving a company in which he has a financial and personal stake. Instead of appointing a separate counsel to handle this case he should resign his office so Virginians can have the representation they deserve."